Prosecutors doubt Houston mom's reasons for infant's skull fracture

Updated 11:10 pm, Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Crystal Renee Jackson said her baby's head hit a door frame "2-3 times."

Crystal Renee Jackson said her baby's head hit a door frame "2-3 times."

Photo: Houston PD

Prosecutors doubt Houston mom's reasons for infant's skull fracture

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A Houston mother injured her 2-month-old son so severely that he suffered broken ribs and a fractured skull that could result in permanent damage, Harris County prosecutors said.

Crystal Renee Jackson, 27, has been charged with felony injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, and was being held Wednesday at the Harris County Jail under a $30,000 bail, court records show.

Jackson told investigators that she placed the baby on a bed about 1 a.m. March 20 at her southeast Houston home and went to the restroom, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. She said she heard the baby wake up, followed by a "thud" and then the baby crying.

She told police the baby had fallen from the bed onto the padded and carpeted floor, prosecutors said. The mattress and box spring sat directly on the floor, with the distance from the top of the bed to the floor about 22 inches, according to investigators.

Jackson told police that she picked the baby up and was holding him on her hip when his head hit the door frame "at least 2-3 times," the complaint states.

"The defendant stated that (the baby) has hit his head multiple times in the past," according to the criminal complaint. "In responding to the broken ribs, the only explanation that the defendant could provide was that she might have squeezed (the baby) too tight."

"Dr. Donaruma stated that the force that is required to break ribs in a baby that age is exceeding what any competent adult would use to manipulate a child in the course of his daily activities," the complaint states.

Donaruma told police that "this baby's potential is forever altered and it's highly likely that he will suffer from permanent brain damage. (The infant) is going to have a very challenging first 4 years of life and he is going to need extensive rehab and therapy," according to the criminal complaint.